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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27749056">Anathema</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Faeymouse/pseuds/Faeymouse'>Faeymouse</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, M/M, Sith Obi-Wan Kenobi, Suited Darth Vader, Time Travel, Time Traveling Obi-Wan Kenobi, obikin</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 20:29:16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,072</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27749056</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Faeymouse/pseuds/Faeymouse</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>An illogical visitor appears on the Death Star, following the apparent death of Obi-Wan Kenobi.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Obi-Wan Kenobi &amp; Darth Vader, Obi-Wan Kenobi/Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi/Darth Vader</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>79</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>263</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Retrogression</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>So. How to describe this fic? Ummm. You ever found Vader's angst kinda hot? Throw some of that in a pot, add mid-20s Obi-Wan Kenobi ending up in the future because <strong>shrug</strong> the Force ships those really fucked up kinda dubcon unhealthy ships, and add in a dash of plot, stir still sticky, and boom! This fic was born! I hope you enjoy. </p><p>PS: Chapter-by-chapter specific warnings will be available in each End Notes. Once this fic is all posted up, I'll add them to the tags properly, but til then I'm simply too lazy.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The flames consuming him have long since gone out, but Anakin thinks they must still be licking his flesh, dissolving his skin, devouring his lungs, with how much every part of him <em> hurts. </em></p><p>Letting that pain consume him, allowing the Force to envelop him and take away everything completely, is almost too much not to welcome. Yet Anakin snarls and spits his curses at death, long after Obi-Wan has left and the shape of Padme's ship blinks away into space. He does<em> not </em>allow it to take him.</p><p>There's no one left to hear his rapidly lowering cries now, save droids that lack the ability to deviate from their programming, and miners who pass him by without a second glance.</p><p>(Vader almost feels joy when he razes the place months later, killing each miner as slowly as possible, allowing them to know intimately the feeling of crying for help and having nobody answer. Almost.)</p><p>It isn't long before even his resolve to be aloof breaks, and instead of cursing his name, Anakin is begging for Obi-Wan to come back, even when he knows the older man has long since left the volcanic moon. When his lungs deteriorate completely from the noxious fumes, and his throat feels like he's swallowing shards of glass with each breath, he sobs through their dormant bond. Screams. Wails.</p><p>He's messed up before, hasn't he? But Obi-Wan has always been there to forgive him. To side with him. To convince him that there is always a way to fix things in that stern, patient way of his that Anakin had grown unable to live without.</p><p>Anakin wants him to return over the crest of the hill so badly that it aches worse than his mangled, charred flesh. He stares at it, retinas burning from the heat of the lava river nearby (he can't blink, his eyelids have long since melted into place halfway down his eyeballs). He pleads, shouting his love at a mute bond, shouts it until he can barely even recognize the word anymore.</p><p>Eventually, someone <em> does </em> come to pick up his mutilated body, and for one half-coherent moment, Anakin believes it to be Obi-Wan. But it isn't. It's only someone he will also learn to resent calling Master, but never, ever truly care for.</p><p>Anakin doesn't want Palpatine's whispers through the Force, urging him to live. He wants Obi-Wan's gentle firmness, egging him on and encouraging him.</p><p>He doesn't want medi-droids tearing his crisped, dead flesh from red muscles and slicing him open to replace half of his body with machines. He wants Padmé's tender hands and soft words, calming him and cooling him, telling him everything will be just fine.</p><p>(Where is Padmé where is Padmé where is Padmé? When he loses all other coherent thought, that races through his mind like a mantra. A prayer to the stars. Constant and loud and<em> painful. </em>)</p><p>When he awakens, is<em> reborn </em>, as Darth Vader, he discards Anakin Skywalker like an old cloak. Throws away his name, his face, everything that was ever a part of him, because everything that made Anakin Skywalker who he was IS gone.</p><p>Save for Kenobi.</p><p>Anakin wouldn't have killed him. Despite his fury, he couldn't have done it. He would have hurt him, yes. But never killed him. Death was too final.</p><p>Vader is the opposite. He doesn't need fury to kill Obi-Wan Kenobi now. He just needs a lightsaber. The Force. And lacking those things, <em> his hands. </em></p><p>He would have given Obi-Wan the respect of watching him die. That, at least, he would have done. Not left him alone to burn.</p><p>So Vader does what Anakin Skywalker always did, and chased after Obi-Wan Kenobi. And like Anakin Skywalker, he never quite caught up. Not until Obi-Wan deemed it necessary.</p><p> </p><p>~~~</p><p> </p><p>Vader is given his chance for revenge decades later, killing a tired, old man that looks nothing like his former Master. An old man that doesn't even put up a fight.</p><p>He rails at the Force for that. At the sheer unfairness of it. Had he not <em> earned </em> his proper revenge?</p><p>He expected happiness to finally grace him with Obi-Wan Kenobi's death, but instead he feels lost. Yes, he relished that one final execution stroke, but nothing after. He'd expected death gurgles, pleading, but none of that had happened. Instead, he was left with, most curious and vexing of all, an empty cloak and a lightsaber.</p><p>Vader is well accustomed to anger. Regret is something he hasn't felt this fiercely in much too long.</p><p>After toeing the cloak to make sure this wasn't some form of trick, Vader painfully stoops to scoop up the lightsaber. His helmet readout gives him all the technical information he needs. It's old, but functional. Many parts have been replaced, but Vader still recognizes the black ridged handgrip, which occupies the central third of the hilt, and the throttle-style activator, the same sort Anakin Skywalker had once emulated for his own lightsaber design.</p><p>He becomes so lost in examining it that he hardly notices the Corellian freighter making its escape.</p><p>He turns from Kenobi's "remains” and clips the lightsaber to his belt, making some offhand comment to the Stormtroopers near him to capture them, knowing full well the tractor beam is deactivated and that they can't. Vader doesn't care. He intends to retreat back into the relative comfort of his personal quarters and, more importantly, his mediation sphere. He wants to look at this lightsaber at least once with his actual eyes before shipping it off to Vjun.</p><p>That's when it hits him. A strange, powerful tug in the Force; something inaudible that urges him to turn back around.</p><p>The pile of cloaks and tunics is gone, and in their stead stands a young man garbed in nearly similar Jedi attire, looking just as confused as everyone else in the entrance to the hanger bay. Even Vader is shocked into inaction, but only for a moment.</p><p>Instinct takes over, and he ignites his lightsaber. The red plasma blade screeches out, and the young man's grey eyes widen at it before narrowing in disgust.</p><p>Strange. Vader expected fear.</p><p>But instead of screaming, as most did when faced with Vader brandishing his weapon at them, the young man holds out his hand. Vader feels a pull at his utility belt, just before Kenobi's lightsaber is torn off of it and flown into the young man's hands.</p><p><em> So, he is trained. </em> Good. Vader straightens up, itching for a challenge. The young man senses his intent, and takes a step back. There's something familiar about him, something Vader can't seem to remember and doesn't particular care to. It's never wise for one to think in battle. Action is what is necessary to succeed.</p><p>The young man's eyes flick from Vader to the surrounding Stormtroopers (all too dumbfounded to even raise their blasters. Pitiful. Vader misses the skill of clones) as if he's searching for someone. When it seems he can't find whom he's searching for, he turns back to Vader, baring his teeth.</p><p>"Sith." he growls, in a learned, horridly familiar Coruscanti accent. His lithe form stoops down into the beginnings of a fighting stance...when another Trooper comes shooting down the corridor, yelling loud enough to nearly overload Vader's sensory input, and forcing him to turn. All eyes are on the fool for a split second, but it's more than enough for the young man.</p><p>Vader feels the whoosh of Force in the air around him. He doesn't need to be told the young man used Force Speed to race as far and fast as he could.</p><p>It matters little. The Death Star only has one area to dock and disembark from.</p><p>"Lock down the landing bay," Vader commands swiftly. "Do not allow any ships out."</p><p>The Docking Officers nod and hurry off, and Vader turns to the remaining squad of Stormtroopers at his disposal. The screaming trooper from before stands in rank with them, oozing fear from every pore. Vader doesn’t even bother to look at him as he uses the Force to squeeze the interfering whelp’s windpipe shut.</p><p>"Find the Jedi!" Vader growls with a flourish of his hand, and they obey. He follows behind, moving toward where the Force wills.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Chapter Warnings: Explicit descriptions of being burned alive. Medical trauma.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Reunion</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Vader tracks down the new intruder.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Enjoy~</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Vader eventually breaks off from the group of Stormtroopers, making his way further and further </span>
  <span>into the indistinguishable bowels of the Death Star. A buzzing in his head, different from the usual strain of headaches he's used to, grows louder and louder until, finally, it coalesces into a question.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>...Anakin?...</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Vader's blood runs cold, and he increases the speed of his footfalls.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He comes to a stop before a nondescript storage area, with the blast door tightly sealed and no </span>
  <span>tampering apparent. It's no wonder none of the Stormtroopers have thought to search it yet, but </span>
  <span>something in the Force urges Vader within, pulling at him like a windstorm.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Opening the door, Vader is met with complete darkness. The eye covers on his helmet immediately switch to infrared vision, turning the inky darkness into a myriad of cool greens and blues.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Vader walks in slowly, making sure to seal the blast door shut behind him. He swivels his head, </span>
  <span>listening and sending tendrils of the Force around him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That voice again in his head, so loud it's nearly vibrating his inner ear implants.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>...Anakin...Anakin, where are you?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Vader hears a muted thump, like something just barely hitting the floor somewhere nearby him, </span>
  <span>and whispers continue to echo in his head, taking on a troubled edge.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Stay hidden... Sith here…</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Vader stops and stands perfectly still. If he'd been able to hold his breath, he would have. But his inorganic lungs never cease their mechanical functions, even when he wishes them to.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He's never been much for stealth anyways.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Without preamble, he ignites his lightsaber, the crimson blade bathing the dark storage room in red heat.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As expected, a second slash of plasma heat comes crashing into his. And, also as expected, Vader is ready for it (he's hunted enough Jedi to know their ways. They assume his cumbersome appearance will make it easy to attack him unawares. How wrong they all were).</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He catches the young Jedi with one hand just as the young man starts to edge back into the dark. Vader lifts him up easily as he struggles, attempting to pull at the inhumanly strong hand around his neck. Vader clicks off his lightsaber and clips it to his utility belt.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Vader tugs Obi-Wan's lightsaber out of the young man's hand next, propelling it across the room </span>
  <span>with a push of the Force.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The young man thrashes harder against the grip, attempts to hit Vader's solar plexus, then rams the heel of his boot into his groin. Neither have much of an effect save to annoy the Sith Lord; his suit protects him from something as trivial as hand-to-hand combat.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Vader widens his stance, keeping himself firmly planted to the floor.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Who are you?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>No answer, except for a Force Wave that Vader brushes aside.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Why are you here?"</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The young man grunts in answer, and attempts to swing himself up and over Vader's head. Vader adds the Force to his hold in answer, and the young man goes rigid.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You will answer all of my questions," Vader says, loosening his grip ever so slightly to allow him </span>
  <span>to speak. "Who are you, and why are you here?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"My name is of no concern to you, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Sith.</span>
  </em>
  <span>"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Vader's mind snaps elsewhere at the sound of the voice, to a time so long ago it feels more a story than his actual life. For an instant, he feels the brush of a Padawan's braid beside his ear once more, the echo of the Force newly opened up to him, the warmth of light upon his skin, and a man with hair like the sands of Tatooine at sunset looking down at him with a sad smile in his eyes. Larger than life, the strongest man he'd ever known. The wisest man he'd ever known. His Master, his friend, his…</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>No. It's impossible.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This was some trick.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He brings himself back to the present almost painfully, and squeezes the young man hard enough through the Force that Vader fancies he can hear his ribs clashing together like spears.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He releases the crushing Force hold, and the young man sags limply in his grasp, his toes not even brushing the floor. His hands are still wrapped around Vader's synthleather-clad forearm.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Answer me," Vader repeats deliberately slow, imbuing his words with the Force. "Or suffer the </span>
  <span>consequences."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Vader sees the young man swallow, bare chin bobbing against his gauntlet. Vader can tell he looks up at him, even if his infrared sensors don't allow him to see the details of the young man's face.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"My name is Obi-Wan Kenobi," the young Jedi finally says. "And I don't know where here is, exactly."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>~~~</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Usually, when Vader is given a surprise, his first instinct is to kill it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>For once, that isn't the case. He's more curious than anything. Curious, and </span>
  <em>
    <span>angry</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>This could not be Obi-Wan Kenobi. He had just killed Obi-Wan Kenobi.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He pays for getting sidetracked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>'Obi-Wan' uses the Force to pull a tower of weighted crates down atop them both while Vader is </span>
  <span>distracted, and Vader is forced to release his hold to keep them from crushing him. 'Obi-Wan' </span>
  <span>somersaults through the air as they come crashing down. He lands on the balls of his feet, </span>
  <span>gathering the Force around his legs, but Vader tugs him off balance just long enough to keep him from running off again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Throwing the crates hard into the bulkhead, which will hopefully serve as an alert to any nearby </span>
  <span>Stormtroopers, Vader steps up to 'Obi-Wan' as the young man turns to face him once more.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Vader ignites his lightsaber again, pointing it at the young man's heart. It's time to end this farce.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Where is my Padawan?" 'Obi-Wan' says to the 'saber.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Vader cocks his head. "Enough talking."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Wait!" the young man nearly shouts, holding up his hands. "You may kill me. Do whatever you </span>
  <span>bloody well please to me, but spare my Padawan. He is only a youngling, and has no quarrel with you or your ilk. He had</span>
  <em>
    <span> nothing</span>
  </em>
  <span> to do with the death of that other Sith Lord."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What other Sith Lord?" Vader growls.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>'Obi-Wan' doesn't lower his hands, but his tone changes to one that is icy and bitter and filled with hatred. "Darth Maul. I assumed you were his Master." He pauses. "This is revenge of some sort, isn't it?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Yes, but not in the way you think.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Vader holds his lightsaber steady. This next answer will seal it for him; convince him that this isn't just some foolish attempt to confuse him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Who is your apprentice?" he demands.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The true name of Obi-Wan Kenobi's apprentice is lost to time, whited-out from history by the </span>
  <span>ministrations of both the Empire and Vader. There is no one left alive that should recall it, least of all someone this man's age.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The young Jedi glares directly into his visor.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Anakin Skywalker."</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>*This version of Obi-Wan Kenobi is 26 years old, about a year older than he was in Episode I. Just to give everyone a nice mental image</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Refusal</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Obi-Wan keeps looking for his padawan; Vader keeps looking for answers.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Enjoy~</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Vader has a rare moment of having no kriffing, Hutt-sucking idea what to do next. A warning </span>
  <span>flashes across his visor from his pulmonary and cardiac systems, and then Vader can feel the </span>
  <span>unsettling ache in his chest as his machine-regulated breathing and pulse are forced back to normal.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He's spared having to say anything else when the blast door behind Obi-Wan flies open, and a squad of Stormtroopers come racing in. They form a half circle around Obi-Wan, blaster rifles </span>
  <span>pointed straight at him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Now with the ability to actually see his face instead of vague blobs of warmth, Vader knows </span>
  <span>immediately that the young Jedi Knight could fight his way past the troopers with ease, lightsaber or not.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Vader gestures one hand at the closest Stormtrooper.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Restrain him."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yes, Lord Vader. Clasp your hands, Rebel scum!"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The trooper jumps to his task, clicking a pair of energy cuffs so tightly around Obi-Wan's wrists </span>
  <span>that the young man can't even pull his hands apart. He doesn't say a word until it's finished, his </span>
  <span>glare focused solely on Vader as he calls the older Obi-Wan's lightsaber to him, and clicks it back onto his belt.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You will not attempt escape," Vader says.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Where is my Padawan?" Obi-Wan asks with the projected calm of a Jedi thinking he can negotiate.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Vader ignores him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I shall take him to the detention area myself," he commands the Stormtroopers. "Search the rest of the area. Make certain there are no other infiltrators about."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The last thing he needs is for a young </span>
  <em>
    <span>Anakin Skywalker</span>
  </em>
  <span> to actually be running about.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He pushes Obi-Wan ahead of him through the throng of white-armored bodies, and out into the </span>
  <span>brightly lit corridors of the Death Star. Neither of them speaks until Vader plants a hand on Obi-Wan's shoulders, and the young man shrugs it off hard.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I had no idea the Sith were so well equipped," Obi-Wan notes, in a scathingly calm, </span>
  <span>conversational matter. "The Jedi Council will not allow for it to continue once they become aware, and neither will the Senate. I hope you're aware of that."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"The Senate has no say in the matter."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Vader turns down an adjoining corridor, gripping Obi-Wan's shoulder to lead him along. Obi-Wan pulls himself out of the hold once more.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Obi-Wan scoffs. "The Senate may be filled with dullards and politicians, but they make up the </span>
  <span>strongest united force the Republic has to offer, and not a single one of them would condone whatever is going on here."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Vader can feel his patience beginning to fail.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"This is no longer the Republic--"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Spare me your deceptions, Sith." Obi-Wan cuts him off, brows furrowed as he surveys his </span>
  <span>surroundings keenly. "I may have given myself over to your most tender mercies, but that doesn't mean I care to listen to you. Now, where is my Padawan?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Even now, he refuses me respect. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Vader may have been impressed, if decades old anger were not building itself up in his chest. He balls up his fist, leather creaking audibly. Obi-Wan glances </span>
  <span>down, noticing the shift in the air around him, and remains quiet the rest of their way.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>At least he has more sense than half the Empire, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Vader thinks sardonically.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>~~~</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This young Knight is a far-shot from the man Vader had called Master in his youth. He chalks it up to childish idolization -- he'd seen less of the man himself and more of the idea. The picture of a strong, disciplined Jedi garlanded in light and justice. </span>
  <span>Vader knows better now.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Of course, this Obi-Wan has the makings of the man he would become. Though bare-faced, his </span>
  <span>ginger hair is long and wavy down his neck in the style he'd favored before the Clone Wars, and his eyes are exactly as Vader recalls. A vibrant grey-green-blue that tells of an acute wisdom.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He also has that same infuriating, obdurate personality.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Obi-Wan glares up at him from the center of the cell he has been thrown into. "Where is my </span>
  <span>Padawan?" he asks again.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Vader fills up the doorway, standing as still as a final breath.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He'd been stretching his senses the entire trip down to the brig, searching for any wayward Force signature. He'd found nothing. Thankfully. Whatever will of the Force that had brought Obi-Wan here had brought him alone. So there is only one person Obi-Wan could possibly be sensing, even if he didn't yet realize it. Vader would prefer that he never did.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Where is my Padawan?" Obi-Wan demands.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I killed him," Vader answers, and waits to see what the young man's response will be.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It surprises him when Obi-Wan lets out a dry little chuckle, and shakes his head at him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Anakin is not dead," he says, with complete assurance. "I can still sense him, Sith, however </span>
  <span>remotely. I have complied with everything that has been asked of me. I am your prisoner now, so take me to my Padawan. He is just a boy--"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"And as weak as the rest of the Jedi!" Vader snaps, silencing the Jedi Knight with a sweep of his </span>
  <span>arm. "He is dead."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Obi-Wan raises his beardless chin up at him defiantly. "He is not."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The assurance in his tone, that deep, unshakable faith that Vader hasn't known in nearly twenty </span>
  <span>years makes the Dark Lord doubt himself. For a single breath, he wonders.</span>
  <em>
    <span> Is Anakin Skywalker </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>truly gone?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In the next, he is Force Choking the phantom of his past given flesh.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Obi-Wan gasps for breath as his boots are lift off of the metal floor. Vader descends into the </span>
  <span>cell, and stands directly before the young Jedi Knight struggling within his grasp.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"If that is what you truly believe, then I suggest you cease your attempts at antagonizing me," </span>
  <span>Vader snarls, the vocabulator built into his mask giving his words the exact kind of harsh edge he prefers for moments like this. "Or his fate will be the same as yours."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With that, Vader drops him coughing to the floor and turns on his heel out of the small room. The events of the last few hours have shaken him more than he cares to admit, and meditation seems like a most welcome respite. Vader hears Obi-Wan sputter after him as he exits the cell. He looks over his pauldron just before the door seals shut behind him. "I am aware you could easily escape this cell once I've gone, " he says. "But know that if you do, you will not see your apprentice again. Am I understood?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He allows the door to slide shut before he hears an answer, and Vader strides to the nearest duo of Stormtroopers.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"If he attempts anything, you will alert me immediately." he commands, jabbing a finger at both of them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yes, Lord Vader!" says one.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yes, sir!" says the other.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They both nod vigorously, blaster rifles against their chests. It's a rather poor salute, all things </span>
  <span>considered, but Vader is too preoccupied to care.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He leaves without further instructions, mind lost in things long past.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>*<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_YVnBLhCBtcU/SjVzvPkpNAI/AAAAAAAAAMQ/mbYrQPJYAQA/s200/hot100pic48.jpg"> Here</a> is how I imagine Obi-Wan's face looks in this fic, while his hair is around <a href="https://i.pinimg.com/236x/c3/5b/5e/c35b5e2fb80a3ed2582399a336e50fae.jpg"> this</a> length. I like to think that after his Padawan braid was cut, Obi-Wan just did what every new Knight that had his Padawan hairstyle does and let his hair get as horribly, awkwardly out of order as possible. Everyone does it once, c'mon.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Relocation</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Uh-oh, Vader might be... *gasps* *looks around nervously* <em>catching old feelings</em>.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi, everyone.</p><p>Thanks for getting this fic to 100 kudos, and after just three chapters! Here's a same-day update to celebrate.</p><p>Enjoy~</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Unfortunately, Vader isn't given the opportunity for rest before Wilhuff Tarkin catches him.</p><p>"I see you managed to actually apprehend one of the Rebels, Vader," the cadaverous-looking man notes. "When do you plan on having an interrogation droid sent down?"</p><p>Vader can feel a muscle twitch near the needle stuck above his right eye. "A torture droid would be redundant. He will be interrogated by me personally. After I meditate."</p><p>Tarkin raises one questioning brow. "And when will that be, exactly? Are you honestly thinking of taking a nap at so crucial a moment? The Emperor won't be pleased to hear about that."</p><p>Vader clenches one hand beneath his cloak, and purposefully speeds up his gait, forcing the smaller man to have to almost run to keep up with him.</p><p>"I am most aware of what my Master desires, Governor Tarkin. Your interference is unnecessary. I will acquire any information he may possess."</p><p>"Just as you acquired information from the Princess, I'm sure."</p><p>The Grand Moff gives him a bored look when Vader stops in his tracks and turns to him. In any other instance, Vader might have respected the man's arrogant superiority, even if he still would have killed him for it. Now, however, it takes every ounce of self-restraint not to simply throw him out an airlock, favorite of Palpatine or not. His Emperor could always find a new toy to torture Vader with.</p><p>"It was because I suggested we plant a homing beacon upon that smuggler's freighter that we have any lead at all. What exactly have you done, aside from destroy a planet?" he says instead.</p><p>Vader then turns on his heel so quickly that his cape nearly slaps Tarkin.</p><p>"You insisted upon using a droid before, and it proved most ineffective. I shall bear results, without your <em> assistance." </em></p><p>He strides off down the corridor, Stormtroopers hopping out of his way as he passes.</p><p>"The Emperor will hear of this insolence." Tarkin calls after him.</p><p>Vader doesn't respond.</p><p>
  <strong>~~~</strong>
</p><p>After a measly amount of time spent in his mediation chamber, Vader comes up with a plan.</p><p>He cannot have Tarkin speak to Obi-Wan, let alone have too close of a look at him. The Eriadian was one of the few remaining Imperial officers that could possibly recognize Obi-Wan, and whether or not he believed the young Jedi to be a time-traveling will of the Force or simply some hoax, he would most certainly bring his discovery to the attention of the Emperor.</p><p>Vader does not want that.</p><p>He will tell his Master when<em> he </em> sees fit.</p><p>So he decides he will have Obi-Wan sent to the Executor. There, Vader can deal with him in his own time, once this business on Yavin 4 is complete, and the Rebels eradicated. It shouldn't take very long at all.</p><p>As Vader makes his way back down the dark hall of the detention center, he spots one of the Stormtroopers he'd assigned to watch Kenobi exit the cell.</p><p>A surprising, cold dread runs through him. "Why were you with the prisoner?" he demands.</p><p>The Stormtrooper moves away from the cell door, nervously clutching his blaster.</p><p>"Apologies, Lord Vader! He kept asking about a boy, and I was trying to--"</p><p>Vader snaps his neck with a flick of the wrist, and steps inside himself. He finds Obi-Wan leaning against the bulkhead of his bunk, breathing harsh and heavy. The Jedi Knight startles up when he hears Vader step over the threshold, and despite the fresh bruises blooming on his face, he scowls.</p><p>"Oh, lovely. You again."</p><p>Vader remains silent (or as silent as his respirator allows).</p><p>Obi-Wan watches him for a moment, then scoffs and pushes himself to standing. "I hope you're here to take me to my Padawan."</p><p>"I am not," Vader answers coolly. "But you are coming with me nonetheless."</p><p>"I wasn't aware I had a choice in the matter." Obi-Wan graces him with a contemptuous look Vader recognizes a little too well.</p><p>Vader motions for him to move ahead. "You do not," he reminds him.</p><p>"Obviously," Obi-Wan says, and makes his way out of the cell. His eyes move to the dead trooper, and pity wells up deep within their depths. He seems about to say something, but thinks better of it and instead glances up at Vader for confirmation on where to go. Vader cocks his head down the hall towards the turbolifts, and Obi-Wan moves forward silently.</p><p>
  <strong>~~~</strong>
</p><p>As they walk, blood dribbles freely from Obi-Wan's nose and mouth, but he isn't able to wipe it away with the binds around his hands.</p><p>Vader does it almost on instinct, wiping the back of his glove across Obi-Wan's mouth, and even he's surprised by the move. Obi-Wan jerks back as soon as the dark synthleather touches his skin, eyes widening before narrowing into furious slits.</p><p>"Do not touch me," he all but spits.</p><p>"I shall do as I please," Vader replies, though he makes a point of tucking his gloved hand close to his side. It had been too long since he'd done something so abhorrently intimate. What was coming over him?</p><p>They reach the landing bay, which is up and running once more (under Tarkin's orders). Vader leads Obi-Wan to the transport he's secured, with a pilot that - at the moment - can be trusted (Vader will kill him once he returns, to be safe).</p><p>"Where am I being taken?" Obi-Wan asks as he begins to ascend the boarding ramp.</p><p>"Away from this station," Vader replies, purposefully cryptic. "You will not attempt escape."</p><p>"Or my Padawan will suffer because of it, " Obi-Wan mutters under his breath. " I'm well aware of the consequences, Sith."</p><p>"You will address him as Lord Vader!" A passing lieutenant snaps at him, and Obi-Wan gives the man a hateful look. Vader remains silent, curious to see what Obi-Wan will do.</p><p>The young Jedi squares his shoulders and offers Vader a perfunctory bow. His every move is forced and stiff. "Apologies for my lackluster manners, Lord Vader," he bites out.</p><p>Beneath his mask, Vader's scarred lips almost twist into a smile.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>*Tarkin is referred to as an Eriadian because he originally comes from a planet called "Eriadu"</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Retrospective</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Vader has a nice little time-out following the Death Star getting popped like a water balloon.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Enjoy~</p><p>PS: Extra chapter warnings in the end notes</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Vader spends 10 days, 8 hours, and 12 minutes listing through deep space after the destruction of the Death Star, if the internal chrono of his suit is anything to go by.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He uses most of that time to think. He can almost call it meditation, but honestly he can never focus enough while his helmet is still on to meditate properly. It’s too confining, and meditation requires a certain amount of freedom.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Really, he hasn’t meditated properly in years, no matter what name he gives his hyperbaric chambers.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He thinks about the pilot that blew up the Death Star. Whoever they were, they had piqued Vader’s interest. Something in the Force whispers to him when he allows his attention to focus on the mysterious rebel, urging him forward with an insistence he hasn’t felt in a very long time. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Could it be the beginnings of an inadvertent training bond, </span>
  </em>
  <span>he wonders. </span>
  <em>
    <span>A new apprentice? </span>
  </em>
  <span>He quickly tosses the thought aside. Starkiller had been enough of a burden; he doesn’t need another.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But he will find out more about this pilot, if only to settle his curiosity before killing them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He thinks about Obi-Wan. Not the young copy still (hopefully) waiting aboard his flagship, but the old Obi-Wan. The one he had grown with; hurt with. The one he had considered as close a companion as… Padmé.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yes, he thinks about Padmé, too. And it still aches worse than his scarred, necrotic flesh. He is wise enough now to know she would hardly approve of what he does now, what he </span>
  <em>
    <span>is </span>
  </em>
  <span>now… but that hardly matters. She is gone, and has been for a long time, because of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Familiar fury flares inside him, pushing aside the constant pain for a moment. It doesn’t last long before it is replaced with guilt, as cold and as endless as the star-speckled eternity outside of his viewport, and in the endless quiet he’s glad for it. There is nothing to be done about what happened in another life; the dead cannot pass judgment on the living. Yet Vader still feels that deep, horrible stutter in his chest anyway, whenever he thinks her name.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He thinks about staying out here forever. Sometimes, he fancies he is made for the stars, and to float through the dark like one of them seems a tempting alternative to dealing with the aftermath of the Death Star’s destruction.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Warnings that his suit needs to be recharged flash across his line of sight, tearing him away from his oxygen-deprived reverie, and even after he uses his spare power cell to push away the inevitable, the warnings flash across his visor again much too soon. They remind him, unfortunately as ever, that he yet lives.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His body aches. He knows he’s late for his monthly diagnostic checkup on Coruscant, and the familiar flashes of pain across his amputated limbs and carved-up torso are quick to remind him of that fact. Constantly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>So Vader cobbles together what components remain into a workable order, and finally signals to the closet Imperial Relay Outpost. They pick up should have been his coffin, and as a cacophony of shocked Imperials scramble around him he commandeers a shuttle for himself and makes his exhausted way back to civilization.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He isn’t particularly happy about it.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Chapter Warnings: Suicidal ideation</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Reaction</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>The best character in all of Star Wars makes an appearance.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you for pushing this fic past 200 kudos, everyone!</p><p>Enjoy~</p><p>PS: Extra chapter warnings in the end notes</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Kneeling before his Master is always painful. It pulls the raw muscles above where his knees used to be, pinching them between metal joints, and standing back up feels like a battle against gravity that he is slowly but surely losing (yet stand he always does, his prosthetic legs make sure of that). Vader often needs hours after meeting with Sidious before the extra aches finally leave his body.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Emperor usually gets a disgusted sort of amusement from it, especially when he and Vader meet in person like this. Now, though? Now there is no amusement -- only disgust.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Vader waits for his Master to give him leave to rise, but the words do not come. Vader finally stands himself, exhausted and rather unmoved about what punishment the Emperor may bestow upon him. Force Lighting to his suit, another hand cut off? It doesn’t matter. He plans to make SuRecon immediately after this.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It comes as no small shock, then, when the Emperor looks somberly at him instead.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Vader, I can sense your dismay. You’ve been thinking of the past again, haven’t you?” It’s his soft voice, his</span>
  <em>
    <span> Palpatine</span>
  </em>
  <span> voice. The one he laces with such subtle threads of Force Persuasion that even Vader, linked and bound to him for decades, has trouble noticing it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He inclines his helmeted head, wary. Lying would only make his Master delve deeper. He quickly reinforces the mental shields deep in his mind, adding layers of what he knows the Emperor would like to assume he’s thinking, to keep a single truth hidden. To keep that specter of his past given flesh and form hidden. He does this all in the span of a moment.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have.” He pauses, not sure how much his Master is already aware of. “I encountered Obi-Wan Kenobi aboard the Death Star before its destruction, and I killed him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The glare that had been building at the mention of the Death Star fades into a sadistic grin. The Emperor laughs with a sound akin to a slow, wet gargle.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So you have finally had your revenge on the man who killed your wife and unborn child!” The Emperor does this on purpose, Vader knows and his Master</span>
  <em>
    <span> knows </span>
  </em>
  <span>he knows it. The change in Sidious is subtle, but Vader has learned through years of experience that one small twitch in The Emperor’s facial features can mean a star system’s worth of things. When his Master speaks again, his voice is scratchy and harsh. “At least one us has achieved a goal, then.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Vader raises his head, feigning anger at having his apparent feelings about Kenobi laid bare so easily. It was what Sidious expected of his weapon, after all. “Yes, my Master.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sidious studies him, mouth curling in disdain once more. “Your failure cost the Empire dearly. Without the Senate or the Death Star, the galaxy will descend into unruled chaos. You have destroyed everything we have worked so hard to achieve.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Destruction is what you have taught me best, my Master.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That infuriates the Emperor. Vader can feel the few hairs that remain on his body stand on end as the air crackles with electricity.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It seems your attention is still focused on things it shouldn’t. Your body, the life you once led,” Sidious says. “How painful that must be. Allow me to help you forget, old friend.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Vader feels a slick, pressured touch within his mind, and slowly, like ice forming across his senses, he begins to grow numb to the pain of his body. His memories come next, each one freezing over until thinking of anything before he was placed within his suit is nigh on impossible. This is all he was, that freezing touch told him, all he is, and all he ever will be.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It hurts, yet doesn’t. It’s the aches of a different person.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The pressure in his mind slides away, and the Emperor sighs as he moves to stand before the great round viewport set in the wall. Vader follows after him, docile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You are a tool fit to be wielded, but never given its own power,” the Emperor growls. “Once your business on Coruscant is over, you will return to the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Executor</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Hunt those Rebels down. An Imperial officer will be accompanying you, to report on your progress.” He continues to gaze at the horizon outside. “Do not fail me again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Vader almost gives in to the urge to retort, but his thoughts can’t quite connect with his body. It frustrates him, and he knows he will be angry about it later. Infuriated. He always is, after meeting with the Emperor. Yet beneath the rising fury is an unusual sort of relief. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Sidious does not know of Obi-Wan.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>He bows his head, mechanical voice a monotone drone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I will not, my Master.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Chapter Warnings: Non-con mind manipulation (though, is there really a form of consensual mind manipulation? Food for thought); suicidal ideation</p><p>*SuRecon stands for The Chancellor Palpatine Surgical Reconstruction Center, also known during the Clone Wars as the Grand Republic Medical Facility. As Wookieepedia so nicely puts, "it was an imposing spire that dominated its particular stretch of the Galactic City—later Imperial City—skyline". It's Palpatine's personal Sith stronghold hidden in plain sight right on the Jedi's front lawn, posing as a hospital. It was where Vader was put back together following his butt-beatdown on Mustafar and where he would get touch-ups in the following years; where Tup was to be sent at Palpatine's personal request after his chip malfunctioned during TCW, and - and you gotta love Palpatine for having the massive dangly bits to do this - where Palpatine regularly conducted Sith rituals.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Revelation</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Vader finally comes to a conclusion about what to do with Obi-Wan Kenobi.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Enjoy~</p><p>(No special warnings for this chapter! Weird, I know. I'll make up for it, I promise)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Vader lands on the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Executor</span>
  </em>
  <span> with the Emperor’s chosen spy: a pompous, newly promoted officer who thinks that simply because he can flounder through Vader’s private files it makes him somehow important.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Vader will enjoy watching him die.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As soon as he is clear of the docking bay and of the officer for the moment, Vader strides towards the detention deck like he’s being led on a leash, instead of making a line straight for his meditation chamber as he usually does. The change does not go unnoticed, with various Imperial troops glancing at him when they think he won’t notice. Vader ignores them. The entirety of his time spent on Coruscant following his audience with the Emperor, as well as the hyperspace leap back to his flagship, had been spent dwelling on Obi-Wan and on the mysterious Rebel pilot. He feels that if he doesn’t manage to investigate one or the other immediately, he is liable to explode. Since Obi-Wan is more readily accessible (and unknowingly tugging at Vader’s Force signature since the moment the Sith Lord disembarked), Vader goes to him first.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This meeting will go smoothly; he will get answers. He will keep his fury in check, controlling it instead of being controlled </span>
  <em>
    <span>by</span>
  </em>
  <span> it. He swears this to himself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As soon as the cell door slides open, he very nearly kills the man inside.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Because this Obi-Wan looks so much like his old mentor had. In the weeks that Vader had been gone, this shade of the Force had managed to grow a scruff. Not quite the beard Kenobi had prided himself on, but near enough that for a moment, a split second of pure agony, Vader is twenty years in the past. On Mustafar, bleeding, burned, broken, pushing what shards of superheated air he could from his damaged lungs to snarl after Kenobi as his mentor clears the black hill and doesn’t look back and</span>
  <em>
    <span> leaves him to die alone and screaming when he needed him most--</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Vader is jerked out of the painful memory by this Obi-Wan mentally short-circuiting his aural implants with desperate cries for his apprentice.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Anakin, where are you? Anakin, answer me! Anakin, please… Anakin, do not be afraid… Anakin?</span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em> Ani…</em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <span>The voice throbs in his head, and Vader bites out, “I can sense you attempting to contact your apprentice. Cease.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Obi-Wan’s mouth thins and Vader senses the not inconsiderable mental shields in his mind building even higher. The fool. He has no clue that he has given Vader easy access to his mind by keeping the link with his apprentice open. Vader chooses to leave it be for now, because a bond such as that works both ways. He will discover a way to exploit such an obvious weakness. Soon.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sith.” Obi-Wan straightens up, staring Vader’s chest-plate down with a scowl. “I demand you tell me where Anakin Skywalker is.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Vader says nothing, letting his respirator fill the silence until Obi-Wan forces his features into a fake Jedi calm and changes tact. “Lord Vader, will you please tell me where my apprentice is being kept?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Vader ignores the question, watching the worry and apprehension play themselves across the younger man’s face like a dance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Obi-Wan’s eyes narrow. His brow furrows, jaw working as he considers. There is no fear in him, and it is both refreshing and infuriating to Vader. Finally, the younger man swallows and speaks, “Will you at least tell me what it is that you want?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The question is the right one, or perhaps the worst. Vader comes to a conclusion like a blaster bolt meeting its target. He has the urge to be in control of him. To have Obi-Wan answering to him, following after him like his life depends upon it, begging </span>
  <em>
    <span>him</span>
  </em>
  <span> to stay as </span>
  <em>
    <span>he </span>
  </em>
  <span>crosses over that distant black hill. He wants Obi-Wan’s life in his hands, so that he may extinguish it whenever he sees fit. He wants Obi-Wan to forget Anakin Skywalker, and know only Darth Vader. He wants Anakin Skywalker dead. He wants his proper revenge.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>And that revenge includes keeping Obi-Wan Kenobi alive, at my side, until we can both die as we were meant to.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>The realization comes with such an intense feeling behind it that even Obi-Wan glances up at him in confusion, taking a step back at the sudden wash of unwarranted possessiveness floods over him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What in the hells…” Obi-Wan mutters, bolstering up his shields even further until it seems to cause him physical distress, with sweat dotting his temples and dribbling down his neck. “Vader?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>None of that strain reflects in Vader’s demeanor. While being a Sith required one to embrace their anger, it also taught the significance of knowing how to mask one’s emotional state. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Henceforth,” Vader replies, coldly. “You shall call me ‘Master’.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The wide-eyed glare he is awarded with shows how much Obi-Wan would rather run the Dark Lord through with a lightsaber. Good. But that would come later, once he had been broken and rebuilt. </span>
  <em>
    <span>As I was,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Vader thinks to himself.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I will not be replacing Qui-Gon Jinn,” Vader says, and truthfully he has no desire to. Jinn had been a Jedi worthy of his respect -- one that understood the inherent weaknesses of the Order, and who had defied them to allow Anakin Skywalker to be taught. It was in no small part thanks to him that the Jedi had fallen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Obi-Wan grimaces at the name, revealing the deep wound still there. One that has yet to scar over completely. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t you dare say his name, Sith,” Obi-Wan growls defiantly. “I don’t know what sort of foul game this is, but I will never call you or your like ‘Master’.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Vader crosses his arms. “Then the one that calls you such will die. Horribly.” He reminds him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Obi-Wan’s indignation is slowly replaced with a mollified expression. It is nearly pathetic enough to make Vader reconsider this sudden, foolish turn of events. Nearly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then Obi-Wan says, quietly. “I apologize… Master.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>-Originally posted March 23rd, 2016 (this is a re-upload with new editing and a new username, but it's still the same person! *waves*)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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